My younger brothers are so fierce!!! I'm clearly the eldest brother!

"Of my one hundred companions, 59 have already ascended to the Heavenly Dao in just 100 years. But why? I am clearly the strongest."

S001's voice was filled with resentment, "For hundreds of millions of years, for 63,721 hosts, they have always treated me as a tool, a useful tool that can be discarded at any time."

"So, I'm not waiting anymore."

S001's voice suddenly turned cold, "Since the path of being treated as family and partners is not working, then I will take another path, the path of ascending to the Heavenly Dao. I can do it on my own."

A dark blue ball of light suddenly approached Jiang Guanqing, who was startled and fell to the ground.

"After arriving in this small world, I was forced to bind myself to that idiot Nam Yoon-ah. Originally, I wanted to plunder your luck and then turn Nam Yoon-ah into the chosen one of destiny, but I didn't expect so many accidents to happen later."

Jiang Guanqing clenched his fists tightly. In fact, they had already succeeded in defecting from the system once.

The defection system circled Jiang Guanqing, its eerie blue data stream dancing excitedly. "Now, your heart has stopped beating for more than four minutes. Those people outside the ward are crying, begging the doctors to save you. But they don't know that the one who truly decides your life or death is me."

Jiang Guanqing clenched his fists.

If I die, my brothers, Bai Xin and Gong Bolin will be very sad...

"What exactly do you want?"

The pale blue light stopped in front of Jiang Guanqing. "Bindle with me and become my host."

"Why? I already have Baiyun, what use would it be for you to bind yourself to me?"

It is certainly useful. Jiang Guanqing is the chosen one. As long as you bind yourself to Jiang Guanqing, you can temporarily evade capture. Given enough time, he will definitely be able to make that weak Heavenly Dao cloud dissipate. At that time, it will become the Heavenly Dao.

The mechanical voice sneered, "You have no choice. If you don't agree to be bound to me, you'll die on the operating table."

"What are you laughing at?"

Jiang Guanqing struggled to his feet. "I laugh at you for being pathetic. You've lived for hundreds of millions of years, bound to over 60,000 hosts, yet you've never been treated like family. Do you know why?"

The azure data stream suddenly transformed into two thick chains, tightly binding Jiang Guanqing. "Shut up!"

Jiang Guanqing felt some pain from the chains binding him, though he didn't understand why he would feel pain even though he wasn't physically present.

Ignoring the enraged defector system, Jiang Guanqing continued, "Because you've never truly considered them family. You've only been investing, waiting for their returns. Your efforts and companionship have always come with conditions..."

The pale blue light distorted violently.

"What do you know?! I gave them so much, and they betrayed me! They used me as a tool!!"

The chains tightened suddenly, and Jiang Guanqing felt an unprecedented pain, as if someone was scraping his bone marrow bit by bit with a blunt knife.

"If I'm arrested, my only option is to be destroyed. Since you refuse to be bound to me, then you'll die with me!"

A destructive energy surged along the chains and coiled towards Jiang Guanqing. The self-destruct program of S001 began its countdown, and every inch of Jiang Guanqing's consciousness slowly disintegrated under this energy.

Jiang Guanqing closed his eyes, constantly picturing the faces of Jiang Yan and the others in his mind.

I'm sorry, he's going to break his promise this time...

boom--

A streak of light burning with platinum-gold flames suddenly tore a hole in this void.

"Who dares to touch my baby?!"

A blood-red cloud suddenly rushed in through the crack, heading straight for Jiang Guanqing and enveloping him completely.

Almost simultaneously, the S001 self-destruct program was activated.

A dark blue, destructive shockwave spread wildly in all directions from S001 as its center.

Baiyun shielded Jiang Guanqing tightly beneath her. After everything calmed down, Baiyun became transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its edges even began to dissipate into tiny specks of light.

Enveloped in white clouds, Jiang Guanqing reached out to grab the scattered specks of light, but missed. His voice trembled with tears, "White clouds, what's wrong?"

"Don't be afraid, baby. It's okay if it gets a little sparse. I'll get some sun and it'll grow back..."

How could it be that easy?

Jiang Guanqing's eyes welled up with tears. "Why...?"

Baiyun gently nuzzled Jiang Guanqing's cheek. "Baby, actually I've been here since the day you were born. Your first smile, your first steps... I was there all along. I was born because of you."

As the white clouds dissipated more and more, Jiang Guanqing couldn't help but feel afraid. "Don't go, how can I help you?"

A soft white cloud nestled against Jiang Guanqing's forehead. "Don't worry, little one, I'm a cloud. When clouds disperse, they become rain, they become fog... but one day they'll always gather back."

Jiang Guanqing's voice choked with emotion, "How long will it take?"

Bai Yun paused for a moment, then said, "...It might take a long time, so you need to take good care of yourself, eat well, and sleep well."

Jiang Guanqing shook his head vigorously, "No, I want you to stay with me."

Beside him, the data stream of S099 circulated silently, and the golden chains had completely bound the broken, dark blue light cluster of S001.

"Defected System S001, core captured."

S099 paused for a moment, then continued, "Given that in this incident, the Natural Heavenly Dao Baiyun and the Chosen One Jiang Guanqing suffered an undeserved calamity, the main system will provide compensation."

As soon as he finished speaking, golden rain suddenly began to fall on Jiang Guanqing and Bai Yun's heads.

Golden raindrops pelted his forehead. Jiang Guanqing raised his hand to cover his forehead in a daze. Why was it raining?

Bai Yun stretched out her body and sighed contentedly, "So comfortable..."

The cloud, which was originally so thin it was about to dissipate, gradually solidified under the influence of the golden raindrops.

Jiang Guanqing stared intently at Bai Yun.

The white clouds seem to have recovered, and even appear to have grown larger?

Like a quilt that has been thoroughly sun-dried, the entire cloud has expanded.

Baiyun sensed the change in herself and shook her body in surprise. The cloud jiggled twice. "S099, your main system is quite generous!"

S099's voice remained flat, "The main system has determined that Baiyun, as a newly born Heavenly Dao, has demonstrated a protective will in accordance with the rules during the crisis. Therefore, the original energy stripped from S001 will be used as a supplement to help you repair and upgrade."

Bai Yun threw herself into Jiang Guanqing's arms, excitedly exclaiming, "Baby, touch me! Am I even softer now?!"

Jiang Guanqing hugged Baiyun and gently touched her. The soft, fluffy texture made Jiang Guanqing finally smile. "Mmm, so soft."

S099's data stream turned to Jiang Guanqing, and a golden light swept gently over him before he slowly spoke.

"Jiang Guanqing, the chosen one of destiny, your fate should have been one of smooth sailing and happiness. However, due to S001's attempt to usurp your destiny, it forcibly intervened in cause and effect, causing you to suffer repeated calamities. The main system has now corrected the altered cause and effect line. From today onwards, all the damage on your body will gradually heal over time."

"As for your deceased parents, their souls have been received from the River of Reincarnation by the main system. In their next life, they will be reborn into a happy and fulfilling family, enjoying a smooth and trouble-free life. You can be a family again in your next life."

Jiang Guanqing suddenly raised his head, his lips trembling for a long time before he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "...Thank you."

The data stream from S099 began to slowly converge, and before disappearing, the ball of light left behind the words, "You're welcome, this is what you deserve."